Gregg, Rendell Call for Bipartisan Cooperation on Reform

Former U.S. Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire and former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell called for bipartisan action to rein in the federal debt at a forum last week in New Hampshire.

Gregg, a member of The Concord Coalition’s Board of Directors as well as a co-chair of Fix the Debt, stressed that despite recent short-term improvements in the deficit, the country's fiscal problems continue to grow. He said the country's growing debt is the result of “a function of government that’s not functioning appropriately.”

Rendell, also a Fix the Debt co-chair, said Democrats should engage in fiscal reform partly to ensure that federal retirement and health care programs remain solvent. Republicans, he said, must realize that “we’re not going to solve this problem without raising revenue.” He suggested eliminating tax expenditures.

The program at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College was presented by the institute, Concord, Fix the Debt, the New Hampshire Forum on the Future and the Warren B. Rudman Center at the University of New Hampshire School of Law.